


Built for the Distance

by MarstonsMarkers



Category: Grand Theft Auto V
Genre: Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2020-09-26 06:42:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20385346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarstonsMarkers/pseuds/MarstonsMarkers
Summary: lmaoo idk if anyone still reads gta fics especially framar but.... this started out as like a oneshot for practice and i didn’t do much planning i just started writing but i wanna make it into a fic soo here we go. p.s. this is my first fic so understand it might be a little poopoo. constructive criticism welcome lmao. also please excuse the title im just a simple bh stan





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> lmaoo idk if anyone still reads gta fics especially framar but.... this started out as like a oneshot for practice and i didn’t do much planning i just started writing but i wanna make it into a fic soo here we go. p.s. this is my first fic so understand it might be a little poopoo. constructive criticism welcome lmao. also please excuse the title im just a simple bh stan

Lamar hated change. He hated change more than anything and ran from it like the plague. His mother always told him that change could be a nice thing, that he should look forward to it, but he didn’t see what she saw. All it felt like was a gun to the back of his head. He’d lived in Los Santos, in the same neighborhood, on the same street, in the same house his whole life. He stayed around the same people, more or less, and his best friend was no exception. 

He and Franklin had practically known each other all their lives and had been joint at the hip since middle school. Franklin was there with Lamar through everything he went through, and vice versa. To put it simply, he was his rock, even though Lamar was never one to admit this. So when Franklin started to run off and do his own thing, Lamar wasn’t sure how to feel about it.

Of course he was happy for him! That was his best friend and all his hard work was finally paying off. But Lamar couldn’t help but notice some distance growing between the two of them. Frank was hardly around and rarely answered phone calls or texts. He lost count of how many times he went to drag Franklin out of his house only to find himself being shooed away by Aunt Denise so she could go back to them dumb ass exercises. He’d even go around back to check on Chop, who seemed to miss Franklin almost as much as he did. It didn’t take long for people to notice Frank’s absence; or Lamar’s moping either.

“What’s with the sour-ass mug, LD? Someone kick that dog of yours?” He heard a familiar voice calling out to him one cloudy, but disgustingly humid afternoon as he was dragging his feet around Forum Drive. He was greeted by Tonya, who was sat at a rusty ass lawn chair with a joint planted between her fingers.

“Shouldn’t you be out keepin’ JB’s ass from getting fired?” He called back, approaching the red haired woman as he spoke. He caught her rolling her eyes at him.

“Shouldn’t you be out gettin’ you and Franklin shot at?” She replied with a lazy laugh. “Speaking of, I haven’t seen that moody motherfucker ‘round here in a minute. You know where he at?”

Lamar shrugged, dropping down on the empty lawn chair beside Tonya. “I know just as much as you do. Nothin’ at all. Haven’t heard from his ass in a week or two.” He leaned back into the chair, which creaked loudly under his weight.

Tonya went quiet for a moment before laughing to herself. “You think he been out with that sugar daddy of his?” She looked over at him with a raised eyebrow. In turn, Lamar furrowed his own brows in disbelief.

“All that crack finally got to yo’ ass, huh? You finally lost it, Tonya. What on Earth is you talkin’ about?” Lamar’s voice was caught somewhere between a laugh and confusion.

“You haven’t heard?”

“Does it look like I’ve heard?”

She sighed. “Issa long ass story but basically word around the block is people’ve been seein’ his ass around Vinewood with some rich lookin’, old lookin’ white guy.” She waved her hands about as she explained the story. “I figured it was bullshit at first, but how the hell else would he be gettin’ all that paper? Not from hustling, for sure.”

“You motherfuckers are filled with all kinds of bullshit.”

“Your clown ass got a better explanation? Didn’t think so.”

Lamar huffed stubbornly, crossing his arms. “Whatever, all I’m saying is he better turn up soon or else I’mma be pissed.”

“Chill out. He’ll be back sooner or later.” Tonya put out the stump that was left of her joint, then threw it aside. “You sure gettin’ real pissy for someone who’s pulled his own disappearing acts before.

Lamar rolled his eyes. “I ain’t never been gone this long before!” He reminded her. “That ain’t even the point! All I’m sayin’ is I hate it when motherfuckers who’s supposed to be loyal go AWOL outta nowhere like that all-“

He was cut off by an annoyed groan from Tonya. “Will you shut that big mouth of yours up for once? Your loud ass wouldn’t stop talkin’ even if you had a gun to the back of yo’ head.” She got up off her lawn chair and began to walk off. “I’m leavin’ before you talk my damn ear off.”

“Yeah, okay. Tell JB to lay off the crack a little.”

“Uh-huh.”

—————————————————————

It was another two weeks before Lamar saw Franklin again and it wasn’t exactly the picture perfect scenario, either. 

On the way back home from a midnight walk with Chop, Lamar spotted what looked like Franklin’s car pulling into his driveway just as he arrived on their block. Chop must’ve recognized the car too because he barked a loud, dirty-looks-from-nosy-neighbors kind of bark then immediately bolted to the driver side door to greet Franklin as he got out, who knelt down to pet the stocky rottweiler.

“You wanna explain where you been for the last however many weeks you been gone?” Lamar approached Franklin with crossed arms, watching him intently as he immediately stood back up. “I been lookin’ up and down Los Santos for your slippery ass. You harder to spot than that Waldo muthafucka, you know that?”

“What, no ‘wassup, Franklin? How’ve things been?’” the shorter man replied, standing back up.

“Maybe we’d be havin’ a different conversation if you hadn’t pulled that stunt, asshole. You even gonna bother tellin’ me what the hell that disappearing act of yours was about?” Lamar leaned against the car, eyes glued on Franklin

“It’s a long fuckin’ story-“ Franklin started, only to be cut off by a dirty look from Lamar. “Damn, fine! Quit lookin’ at me with that ugly ass mug and get in the car, I’ll catch you up.”

He perked up, going around to the passenger side of the car. “Now that’s what I like to hear!” He laughed, but could’ve sworn he heard a ‘nosy ass motherfucker’ coming from Frank, who’d just finished up coaxing Chop to go back into the yard. 

“We gettin’ food or what?” He asked as Franklin sat back down in the car, then started it up. 

“That’s the first thing you think of? Fuckin’ fatass.”

“What you wanna do then, huh? Jump rope? Play hopscotch?” Lamar adjusted his seat as he spoke. “You short as hell. Even the passenger seat is moved all the way up.”

“And you still loud as hell. But I guess the least I could do is buy you some food.”

—————————————————————

“So let me get this straight…”

The two men were sat on the trunk of Franklin’s car in the parking lot of a 24-hour BurgerShot, drinks in their hands and to-go bags placed between them. 

“..you out doin’ heists ‘n shit with some crazy ass middle aged white guys you met a couple weeks ago.” Lamar waved a limp, ketchup covered french fry between his fingers as he spoke. Franklin took a loud sip of his drink then shrugged.

“Yeah, guess that sums it up, huh?”

Lamar snorted out of amusement before stuffing his face with another mouthful of burger. “You know, I’d say you were fuckin’ with me if I didn’t know that your grumpy ass never make any jokes.” He could barely speak without spraying chunks of burger meat everywhere.

“Shut the fuck up and swallow yo’ food before you keep talkin’ again. I’m not tryna have some of your burger bits.”

Lamar listened for once, swallowing the chewed up food in his mouth and washing it down with a gulp of Sprunk. “So which one’s your sugar daddy?”

“My- HUH?” Franklin turned his attention away from his food to stare at Lamar, who looked real amused under the orange light of a nearby streetlamp. He wasn’t sure if he was angry or confused as all hell. Or both. “What in the fuck are you talkin’ about? You better loosen up that hat ‘cus I think it’s cuttin’ off the blood flow to that big head of yours.”

“Don’t look at me, I heard it from Tonya.” Lamar put his hands up.

“And what the fuck is it Tonya told you?”

Lamar chuckled under his breath. “She said you been out rentboyin’, since people been seein’ you out in Vinewood with some rich white boy. ‘Least that’s what she told me.” He shrugged.

Franklin slapped his hands over his eyes and held them there for more than a few moments. “Tonya could tell you I invented ponies and you’d still fuckin’ believe her.”

“Whatever. It’s a good explanation for how you’ve been gettin’ all that bread lately.”

“What, I can’t work for my paper?”

“You got a honest job now?”

Franklin crumpled up the now empty to-go bag and tossed it to the ground. “Who said it had to be honest? Just finish yo’ damn food. You eat real slow for a muthafucka with such a big mouth.”

“I ain’t a walking vacuum cleaner like you.” Lamar finished off the rest of his fries, then pushed the trash aside. “Where we headed now? Titty club or what?”

“I’m droppin’ your ass off.”

Lamar groaned. “You ain’t no fun. These old motherfuckers been rubbin’ off on you.”

“Quit runnin’ your mouth and get back in the car” Franklin wiped his hands on his jeans then slid off the trunk, kicking some trash aside before getting back in the car.

“Man, you really hate fun, don’t you?”

“Can it before I can it for you, asshole.”

Lamar scrunched up his nose but obliged, almost bouncing off the trunk and making his way back to the passenger seat. “Hey. I don’t get down like that.”

“Neither do I, motherfucker.” Franklin settled into the driver’s side, starting up the car. 

“Not what Tonya said.”  
_______________________________________

The pair finished up the last of their banter as Franklin pulled back into Lamar’s driveway, ushering him to get out of the car.

“I fed yo’ ass now get the fuck out my car, it’s late and I’m not tryna fall asleep on the ride back.” He made a little waving motion towards the door. 

Lamar huffed. “Yeah, yeah, I’m gettin out. You better stay in contact though. You disappear like that again and I beat your ass next time I see you.” He warned, slipping out of the car only to lean in through the open window.

“Damn, you really miss me huh? No worries, I’ll keep in touch. Now get your greasy hands off my car.” Franklin didn’t wait for Lamar to comply and began backing his car out of the driveway.

Lamar waved him off, walking toward his front door. “I better hear from your ass tomorrow!” He called out after him.


	2. Chapter 2

Saturday mornings were great. They were the only time Franklin got any damn peace and quiet. This Saturday happened to be one of the perfect ones. It was around ten in the morning on a sunny, cloudless day, with just enough sun for the heat to be pleasant rather than unbearable, like it had been the last couple months.

He lay in a deck chair, legs crossed, Pisswasser in hand, leftovers on a table beside him. Franklin took a swig then set the bottle aside, letting out a long sigh as he settled into the chair. This was bliss.

Unfortunately, bliss didn’t last very long. Franklin heard a banging at the gate, followed by an all too familiar voice.

“Hey! You gonna let me in or what?!” Lamar’s voice boomed out, loud and obnoxious as ever.

Franklin got out of the chair with an annoyed grunt, then made his way to the front gate, where Lamar was seated on the hood of his car. 

“Man, what the hell you doin’ here? And get yo’ ass up off my car.” He was clearly ticked off, but opened the gate regardless.

Lamar didn’t waste a second waltzing in, then making his way to where the pool was, with Franklin following along.

“What, you give me your address then expect me not to show up? I thought you knew me, F.” Lamar feigned hurt, then dramatically plopped himself down on Frank’s deck chair.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m the dumbass for wantin’ to enjoy my damn Saturday.”

“Hey, that ain’t no way to talk to your guest, dawg. I even brought you a housewarming gift.” Lamar dug around in the pockets of his basketball shorts for a moment before whipping out a lighter, then tossing it in Frank’s direction.

“Shit, I’ll treasure this for the rest of my life.” He rolled his eyes, but pocketed the lighter.

It wasn’t long before Lamar got off the chair, then made his way into the house, looking around in awe. “Damn, you been livin’ like this and I didn’t hear a word about it? I’m hurt, Frank.”

“Anyone ever tell you that you the most dramatic ass muthafucka in all of LS?” Franklin shook his head.

“I ain’t hearin’ no complaints.”

“You ignorin’ all the complaints!” 

Lamar opened his mouth to shoot out another smart-ass reply, something he seemingly never ran out of. Thankfully, Franklin’s phone began to ring before he was able to get another word out. He picked it up, putting it to his ear.

The voice of Michael De Santa rang out from the device. “Hey, F? You busy? Trev and I need some help over here.”

Franklin glanced over at Lamar, who was now digging through his fridge. “Naw, I’m free. Should I be worried?”

“It ain’t nothin’ too serious. Come by my place and we’ll give details.” Michael hung up before Franklin could respond.

Frank didn’t waste a second as he dug around in his pockets for his keys, then began to make his way outside. Lamar’s nosy ass, of course, caught wind of this and began tailing along. “Uh, where the fuck you goin’? What was that call about?” He followed Franklin outside, watching him get his in car.

“Nuthin’, but I gotta leave so get the fuck out my house.” The shorter man replied, starting up the car, but it looked like Lamar wasn’t going to take no for an answer. He opened the door to the passenger side and promptly sat down before Franklin could drive off.

“I’m comin’ with.”

“No the fuck you ain’t.”

“Yes the fuck I am, asshole. You think I was born yesterday? You just gonna run off for weeks again.” Lamar kept a straight face, but Frank knew him better than that. He sensed a twinge of hurt in his voice

He was quiet for a moment and could feel Lamar’s eyes staring at him. After a moment he sighed, shaking his head as he started up the car. “....Fine. You one stubborn motherfucker, LD.” Though he’d never admit it, saying no to Lamar was so damn hard sometimes.

“Naw, I ain’t stubborn. You know it’s ‘cuz you love me.”

“Keep tellin’ yourself that.” 

—————————————————————

Michael’s house was only a five or six minute drive away and the two soon found themselves pulling into his driveway. They got out of the car and Franklin headed toward the front door, with Lamar dragging along behind him. The bickering voices of Michael and Trevor led the duo into the living room, where the two older men were arguing, as predicted.

“Why the fuck would you take the job if you know you can’t even fucking get there without getting your ass shot down by every sort of authority in San Andreas?!”

“Oh, like I haven’t fucking done it before!”

“Hey, hey!” Franklin split the two older men apart, bringing their argument to a sudden halt. “You call me over here for help or ‘cuz you two need marriage counseling?” He seemed to be caught between being pissed off and wanting to laugh. 

Trevor put his hands up in innocence, then backed up until he flopped down onto a couch. Michael sighed, turning his back to Trevor and rolling his eyes. His eyes landed on Lamar, arms crossed, leaning awkwardly against the doorframe.

“Who’s this? He comin’ with?”

“Oh, this Lamar. We been friends since I can’t even remember, but we ain’t doing no-“

“Yeah, we figured I should tag along, help out my boy F help out his boys.” at this point, Lamar was no longer leaning against the doorframe, choosing to lean against Franklin instead, as if this was their plan all along.

Michael seemed to believe it enough, or was just eager to push the responsibility of Trevor’s stupid job onto someone else. “Great! Thank you, boys.” Then, upon seeing Franklin’s sour expression, he added, “The pay’ll be worth it, F.”

Franklin didn’t react much, but did seem more willing to go along with the plan. Lamar, on the other hand, lit up at the mention of money.

“Shit, you payin’ us for this?!” He said, sounding almost dumbfounded. This earned Lamar an elbow jab from Franklin, to which he quickly added, “Of course you’re payin’ us! Obviously.”

The shorter of the two rolled his eyes, probably the fifth or sixth time that day since meeting up with Lamar. “So what’s the plan? Or are we bein’ sent on some wild goose chase.”

To this question, Trevor begrudgingly peeled himself off the couch, joining the three in the conversation. 

“It ain’t nothin’ too difficult. Basically, all you gents need to do is deliver something to a good buddy of mine and you’re done!”

Frank frowned. “What’s the catch?”

“You got me there, Frankie. Two catches. First, it’s a pretty long drive up to the guy’s place.”

“Can’t we just take a plane or some shit?”

“Ah, perfect segway into catch number two! Authorities may or may not have caught wind of this, so going by car is your safest bet. On the plus side, nobody’ll suspect you two, since they’re really on the lookout for me. Or according to Lester, at least.”

The two men were quiet for a second, looking at one another, almost as if they were debating telepathically. The silence lasted for a few moments before Frank spoke up.

“You not gonna fuck this one up like the rest?” He asked Lamar under his breath.

He frowned in response. “No the fuck I am not! Don’t gotta be all harsh about it, damn.”

Trevor seemed to take this as a yes, because he went to dig around in a ratty backpack that was leaning against the couch, returning moments later with a flip phone in hand. “Just to be safe, use this if you two need to talk to me or Mike.”

Franklin took the burner phone, only for Lamar’s long fingers to take it right out of his hands. “We startin’ today? No time to prepare or nothin’?” He inspected the phone, opening and closing it repeatedly.

Frank was quick to snatch the phone back, pocketing it before Lamar tried to have another go at it. “No, dumbass. Of course we got time-“

“You guys have a couple days to get ready.” Michael interjected. “Not that you need much, though. The important things are a car, obviously, and money for gas ‘n shit.”

“Aight, that’s all the information we need. Thanks, Mike, Trev.” 

Trevor, who was back on the couch, now watching T.V., simply waved at the two, not sparing a second glance. “You boys have fun! Bring back lots of money!”

Michael led the two men to the door, shaking hands with both as they began to leave. “Thanks again, sorry it was so last minute.” This earned a chorus of ‘no worries’ and ‘we got it” s from both Franklin and Lamar. They said their goodbyes, leaving the two of them to walk back to Franklin’s car.

“You really always gotta get your way, huh Lamar?” Franklin dug around for his keys, then unlocked the doors to the car.

Lamar was quick to get into the car, slumping down into the passenger seat. “Man, why you complainin’? Your buddies said it would be easy enough, all it is is extra money in our pockets.”

The shorter man shrugged, starting up the car. “You still a stubborn son of a bitch.”

“You’re gonna be thanking me in a couple weeks from now when we get that money.” Lamar replied, giving Franklin a punch on the shoulder. “Now, can we go get somethin’ to eat?”

“We ate out last night.”

“Gee, F, I didn’t know you signed up to be my mom.”

“.....Fine, but you payin’ this time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Okay first off I wanna apologize for the half year wait between the first chapter and this one :/ i was really low on motivation and in a huge creative block for the longest time, but I’m finally starting to get out of it! With that being said, I’m sorry this chapter isn’t the most interesting, I didn’t have much inspiration and it’s really only here to move the story along! ALSO!! really important: I need more friends who are into GTA V! It would be great for inspiration and also just because it’s fun to have friends with the same interests as me, since no one i know is really into GTA :( but yeah if any of y’all are interested please lmk so I can give you my tumblr or ig or smth. Thank you so much for reading! <3


	3. Chapter 3

“Fucking finally.”

Lamar picked up the freshly burned CD. He held it proudly between his fingers, then reached across his desk for a permanent marker. Quickly scribbling on the CD in bold, messy letters, it read, “**L’S ROAD TRIP BEATZ**”.

Wiping off the fingerprints on the CD, he put it back in its container and stowed it away in a gray backpack that lay next to his feet. Swiveling around in his rolling chair, Lamar picked up the backpack and slung it over his shoulder. He wandered around his room, making sure he hadn’t forgotten anything while packing. If he said he wasn’t even a little excited to do this job with Franklin, he’d be lying. He’d never admit that he was looking forward to it and he’d most definitely never admit that he’d gotten up extra early in order to pack and make his playlist. This was the first job he and Frank had in a long time that didn’t involve getting knee-deep in shit for Stretch and Lamar had high hopes for it.

As Lamar was trying to stuff his already full backpack with more ‘essentials’, namely snacks, blaring rap music could be heard outside, slowly getting louder and louder. He stopped mid-stuff, wondering who the hell was blasting this shit at nine in the morning. His questions were quickly answered by several honks from the same car, now parked right outside his window. Lamar chuckled to himself, shaking his head.

“Of fucking course.”

—————————————————————

“So, you wanna tell me why your ass was outside my house honkin’ that horn so early in the fuckin’ morning?”

Franklin, who was turning down the loud music to hear Lamar, simply scoffed at the question. He took a right, leaving Forum Drive and turning onto the main street. “You wanna tell me why your ass was up so damn early?” He raised an eyebrow. “I only honked ‘cuz I figured you’d still be ‘sleep, knowing your fuckin’ habits.”

“Oh, haha. You know me so well.” Lamar shot back with a dry, sarcastic laugh, his weak attempt at steering the subject away from Frank’s question. He turned his attention from Franklin to the window, only to notice that they were headed in the wrong direction, away from the freeway. “Instead of that, how ‘bout you explain to me where the hell it is we’re going, ‘cuz the freeway is back there.” He added, motioning over his shoulder with his thumb.

“I don’t think we can get very far without directions, L.”

“They couldn’t have sent ‘em over the phone?”

“We also gotta pick up the stuff.”

“In a public place? You really lost your fuckin’ mind this time, dawg.”

This prompted a punch on his shoulder from Franklin. “Man, if you wanna bring that complaint up with Trevor, then be my fuckin’ guest. But that ain’t a conversation I’m lookin’ to have today.”

Now Lamar didn’t know much about Trevor, but Franklin’s response was enough to convince him he wasn’t a very pleasant person to get into a disagreement with. “Man, whatever. You at least wanna tell me where we supposed to meet them?”

“Funny you should ask, L.” He replied, slowing down the car to pull into the location of their impromptu meeting with Michael and Trev: BurgerShot.

Upon seeing the bright neon sign of the fast food place, Lamar let out an exaggerated groan. “BurgerShot? You’re fuckin’ kidding me. We were here the other day!”

Franklin only responded with a shrug. “Again, take it up with T, not me.”

Huffing under his breath, Lamar pushed open the door of the passenger side and pulled his lanky self out of the car.

—————————————————————

Meanwhile inside the BurgerShot, Michael and Trevor had a table to themselves, with Michael tapping his foot impatiently while Trevor was wolfing down two cheeseburgers by himself. The establishment was fairly empty, save for the two men and a couple teenagers across the room. Not that it was surprising, though; most people weren’t too keen on waking up at nine in the morning on a Saturday to go eat _burgers_, out of all things. Michael looked at his watch, then at the door, then back at his watch. “What the fuck is taking those two so long?”

Trevor wiped his face with the sleeve of his shirt, then with a mouth full of unchewed burger, said, “Hey, Mikey? Have you ever thought that maybe, just maybe, they aren’t really late and we’re the ones who are early?” Michael only responded with a roll of his eyes and Trevor continued regardless. “Anyway, are you sure we can trust Frank’s ‘lil buddy? Or should I say big buddy… I just wanna know what the fuck is in the water that kid’s drinking.”

Michael only shrugs. “If Franklin trusts him, then I trust him.”

“All I’m sayin’ is he doesn’t seem like the sharpest knife in the drawer.”

“Big talk coming from you, T.”

Almost as if on cue, the doors of the restaurant swung open and familiar voices could be heard bickering faintly.

“Man, I’m not eating no fuckin’ burgers two days in a row”

“Suit yourself, but I better not hear no complaints ‘bout you being hungry later on today.”

“I’m grown, dawg. I think I can handle it.”

“Then you go find Mike and Trev.”

It didn’t take the tall man long to find them. Lamar approached the two men, greeting them each with a handshake and a “‘sup”.

“F’s gettin’ his food. He’ll be here in a sec.” he explained, sitting across from them.

Despite this being the second time the two met, Michael already knew quite a bit about Lamar, just from listening to Franklin talk about him.

“_Man, I can’t stand that muthafucka sometimes!_” He remembers a long-winded rant the younger man went on one evening while they were out getting drinks. “It feels like he does this shit on purpose sometimes! Always out gettin’ himself into stupid-ass situations all for some chump change. Talkin’ ‘bout how he’s a “real hustla’”. I’m always out savin’ his ass. One day he’s gonna run outta luck and get his ass killed. Fuckin’ idiot.” Franklin would complain, rubbing at his temples.

As much as Franklin raged on about Lamar, anyone with two eyes and a brain could see that he cared about him. Deeply. “_If he’s such a pain in the ass, why do you still talk to him?_” He recalls asking.

Franklin had been quiet for several moments, seemingly fixated on the dirt that had gathered on his white sneakers. “_It ain’t that simple, man. He-_“ he started, then faltered. He shrugged. “I gotta look out for him, Mike. He’d do the same to me. No matter how much he gets on my fuckin’ nerves.” The two were clearly best friends and had been for a long time, despite all the back and forth bickering. From Franklin’s stories, the two acted a lot like Michael and Trevor when they were that age.

Meanwhile, Trevor and Lamar seemed to have hit it off, with both men laughing loud enough for everyone in the Burgershot to hear them. “Man, you crazy, dawg.” Lamar said to Trevor, who looked equally amused.

“What’s so fuckin’ funny?” Franklin interjected as he approached the table, setting down his tray of a burger and fries and taking a seat beside Lamar.

“You wouldn’t get it, homie. Takes a certain level of intelligence.” Lamar reached out to grab one of Franklin’s fries, only to have his hand smacked away.

“What the fuck I tell you ‘bout gettin’ your own damn food?”

“Fine, fine. Keep your fuckin’ fries… Greedy ass muthafucka.”

Michael quickly jumped in before the two fell back into another insult match. “Boys, boys. The quicker we explain this to you, the quicker you can get the job done and the quicker we could get our money. Trev? Wanna tell our partners here now it’s going to go down?”

“Way ahead of ya, Mikey.” Trevor had already pulled out a folded up map and slid it in Franklin’s direction. “Here’s your map, gents. I marked out everything-“

“You couldn’t give us digital directions?” Lamar asked as he gingerly held the now unfolded map with a look on his face that was somewhere between confusion and disgust.

Trevor seemed to be in a good mood, because instead of snapping at Lamar, he went, “I’m teaching you numbskulls a life lesson! Do either of you two know how to read a map?” He was met with silence. “See? Now’s your chance to learn! Just try not to fuck up too bad.”

This must’ve been a convincing enough argument, since neither said anything. Or maybe they just knew better than to butt heads with Trevor right before a mission. Either way, Lamar was still half expecting the man to yell out “Sike! Gotcha!” and give them GPS coordinates like a sane person.

“But in all seriousness, I only gave you guys a map ‘cuz you’ll have to drive through more remote places. Y’know, as a safety precaution.” He pointed to a highlighted line on the map as an example. “Since we’re not completely sure you’ll always have service, the safest bet was to give you two a map and hope for the best.” He added with a chuckle.

—————————————————————

Fast forward another fifteen or so minutes later to Michael leaning through the window of Franklin’s car for one last chat. “This ain’t exactly what I’d call a high-risk job, so I’m sure you boys won’t run into very many issues. But best of luck either way.”

“Thanks, Mike. You’ll hear from us soon.” Franklin shook Michael’s hand and Lamar waved a goodbye from beside him.

Returning to Trevor, who was smoking a cigarette while leaned against his car, Michael watch the men drive out of the BurgerShot parking lot with the product stowed away in the trunk.

“Y’know, that Lamar kid really grew on me. I’d say those two make a good team.” Trevor remarked, then pretended to wipe a tear away from his face. “They just grow up so fast, huh Mikey?”

“They sure do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y’all! Thankfully this chapter didn’t take nearly as long as the previous ones and I’ll try to keep this energy for the rest of them as best as I can! I may also write a oneshot here or there so keep your eyes peeled for those. Thank you for reading! <3


End file.
